I was always striving to be fitter and to stop walking with my crutches. I hated them – and myself – for being quite so weak.
Then I found that I could do static walking at the gym. I found a buddy who liked walking outdoors too and we planned walks together. We found the canal was a sensible route to start on and we had regular stops to enjoy the views and wildlife.
Over weeks we built it up and rewarded ourselves with a café stop at the end of the walk. We kept a record with photos on our mobile phones of how far we had walked since we started. This shifted my ‘cannot do this’ thinking.
We kept up the regular walks and over the course of the next year I found myself becoming a different, stronger and fitter person.
Giving myself rewards worked well – the best one was booking my first holiday overseas with my wife, Pam!